Sustainability is the foundation upon which resilient and adaptive design was built. It “is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment” (Sustainability and the US EPA). Concern for the environment grew in the 1960’s, and after the creation of the EPA in 1970 the term sustainability came into use. “Sustainable development emerged as a result of significant concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic consequences of rapid population growth, economic growth, and consumption of natural resources.” (Sustainability and the US EPA). In the U.S., the history of sustainability is rooted in American …show more content…
The next generation born after WWII realized the impact of the actions of the generation before them and returned to the notion of valuing and protecting the environment, inciting more consideration for the environment on a governmental level. Then in 1969, one of the first big laws for sustainability in NEPA was enacted which required federal agencies to examine to the fullest extent possible the effect of their proposed buildings and infrastructure on the environment. One major part of NEPA was that Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) were to be created for each project that a firm was to participate in, explaining the effects they anticipated the project would have on the environment. These statements were made before the construction of the project began and to be kept in mind throughout the duration of the project. Unfortunately, there were issues with like how they could not “be full and fair if agencies fail to ‘[r]igorously explore and objectively evaluate’ impacts that will be regulated under other environmental laws,” (Langberg, …show more content…
Sustainability is based on designing for storms that have already happen. For example, a storm occurs and damage is done to a community. The community then decides to redesign a building that was ruined to withstand the storm that ruined it. This seems as though it could be logical, but it does not consider that the next storm will be greater than the last, as suggested by scientific trends about storm frequency and intensity (Blunden). Thus, it is noted that sustainability is almost solely dependent on historical accounts and records of the previous disasters putting the population, economy, and infrastructure at a deficit when it comes to preparedness for disasters. These issues are evident in FEMA flood mapping. Through the RiskMAP program, they “identify flood hazards, assess flood risks, and provide accurate data to guide stakeholders in taking effective mitigation actions that result in safer and more resilient communities,” (Flood Hazard Mapping…). The agency produces maps to “provide the basis for community floodplain management regulations and flood insurance requirements” based on various factors (Flood Hazard Mapping…). The
The goal of environmental sustainability is to conserve natural resources and to develop alternate sources of power while reducing pollution and harm to the environment (Rinkesh 2009). Their mission is to promote sustainable engineered systems that supports human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural environmental systems in other words, environmental sustainability in the United States ensures that incorporating preservation areas and contributing to the overall preservation of a different wetland area that the damage is balanced out. It argues that the local economic benefits will lead to more funding to create environmental protection areas elsewhere.
The environment is among some of the top issues to be looked upon by the human population in the world today. Sustainability is a word often times used when speaking of this subject. This is a concept represented in the articles “Sustainability” by Christian R. Weisser and “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” by Robert Paarlberg. Each author addresses the issue in different ways; one giving examples of this issue and the other clearly defining it. Each author is writing to spread awareness of this issue. As overlapping topics, each article has similarities and differences to the other.
One of the first environmental protection laws included the federal law, primarily a procedural law that the government uses before taking of any action. It puts requirements when it comes to construction or impact the environment in some way. Environmental assessment: asses the impacts the proposed project could have on the environment. If nothing is found, then the law is discarded completely. However, if there was something that challenges the environment. The next step is the environmental impact assessment, this is done by researching scientifically and theoretically the extent that the project could have. This is required if the government wishes to proceed with the project, extensively, this does not mean that it has to comply with the recommendations of environmentalists and the findings of the research, but it must document it. The act was in response to the public’s demand in 1967 after an oil tanker in Great Britain
For years, the government has been regulating citizens and subsidizing companies that they like. Each time they restrict or support a company, they hurt the free market, which then hurts the economy and like a Rube Goldberg machine the entire country is affected. The most common and harmful regulations are those set by the environmental protection agency (EPA). The EPA tries to stop natural selection and save animals through human intervention. Nearly all of the regulations have an effect on how everyone goes about their day. For example, in California the EPA saved a small fish with a minuscule population by pumping 71 billion gallons of fresh water into the ocean, this started one of the biggest droughts in California ever. The EPA
While the Environmental Protection agency has extensive authority over the United States environmental health, the EPA has no more say than any other agency. While the EPA is the only federal agency which has authority over matter that deal with the environment, they can only deal with matter that threaten the environment's or citizens
Saving the environment wasn’t always the goal of the government, but in the last couple of years the government has implicated some rules to make the environment better, but some don’t believe that the environment is deteriorating. Even though cleaning the environment was a major initiative in the 1970’a recently the government hasn’t done much to improve the environment. In the article “How the U.S. Protects the Environment, From Nixon to Trump” by Robinson Myers, the author talks about what President Nixon has done for the environment and the laws he has enforced to make the environment more efficient. Also, the article discusses how the EPA plays a role in helping the environment and if the laws have helped the environment. Richard Nixon
“Since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), federal agencies have been required to consider the potential environmental consequences of their actions, and to bring the public and other stakeholders into their decision making process. NEPA has been critical to meeting the environmental goals this Nation has set for itself” (Larson, Hess, D 'Avanzo, Stanley, & Sumpter, 2015).
Protecting the environment is crucial to life on earth. The EPA ( Environmental Protection Agencies) mission is to protect human health and the environment. EPA was founded on December 2, 1970 to work for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American Citizens.
I found this website online when I was searching for the meaning of sustainability. This source is reliable because it is the U.S. Environmental Protection
Environmentalists did get more power after the victory of DPP, as they for the first time were able to enter the state arena and took part in the policy making process. Environmentalist scholars were also given positions in the public sector, marking a step forward in the Taiwanese political history. However, the environmentalists did not see the implement of all the policies and environmental laws that they longed for. Instead, they found their previous ally now submit for the demand of better economic performance. According to Ho, this is because Taiwan had became a 'weaken state ' after the democratic institutions ' establishment due to DPP’s lack of experience and influence in the political circle. DPP did not enjoy parliamentary majority and faced many obstacles while trying to implement it’s policies as the opposing KMT still holds a considerable amount of power in the public sector. DPP’s tradition of being the opposing minority also means that it does not have the experience on actual ruling, which could be problematic at the same time. All kinds of ideas could permeate easily though a weaken state, meaning that not only the environmentalists’ but also the capitalists’ claims would have great influence in policy making. DPP was also trapped in the dilemma of whether to fulfil its promises to the environmentalists or to go for the pro-economic standing to make itself a more 'electable ' party to the general public. These would mark the new resistance Taiwanese
Sustainability is the ability for a system or process to endure over time without compromising future generations and their abilities to fulfill these processes. In America when we think of sustainability we most often just consider environmental and ecological sustainability. It was evident that sustainability means something completely different in Paris as well as Germany. The European wholesome view at sustainability takes many aspects into light including ecological and environmental as well as political and cultural. The governments and businesses set up sustainable living practices that are embraced by society to help society move forward into a sustainable future. Society also embraces innovation much differently with more collaboration and less worry of intellectual property ideas can flow much more smoothly. To encourage advances in sustainability and innovation european firms and the government 's focus on maximizing the potential of the 3 Ps, people, planet and profits, with profits being last for a reason.
Every living being are directly or indirectly depend on natural environment. Sustainability helps to balance financial, social, and environmental factors to facilitate responsible business decision making over the immediate and long term. . Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Oxford University press 1987, p.43). Sustainability is also being protective and aware of use of natural resources and development that meets the need of present and everything that is need for our survival and well being depends, directly or indirectly on our natural environment. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sustainability is
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, sustainability is defined as “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged” (Merriam-Webster, 2017). The Federal Government regulates the specific use and protection of natural resources through the Environmental Protection Agency (henceforth, EPA). In 1962 Rachel Carson published a book called “Silent Spring” which popularized the idea of environmental protection (EPA History, 2017). The momentum for protection of the environment grew until, in 1970, President Richard Nixon established the EPA (EPA History, 2017). The EPA bases their sustainability efforts on the idea that, “everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.” (Learn About Sustainability, 2016). The stated mission of the EPA is to ensure Americans are protected from health and environmental risks, national policies are based on available scientific data, environmental laws are enforced fairly, environmental protection is a consideration during the creation of United States foreign and domestic policies, environmental information provided to Americans is accurate, and ensuring that the United States is a world leader in environmental
Disasters like the flooding in Houston and the hurricanes across the country are unbelievably destructive and have started to become a major problem for the world. While these storms are supposed to be rare and are labeled as 100 or 500 year events this idea can be misleading to the public (Nadja, 2017). People hear this and assume that these events only occur once every 500 years but this is not the case a 500-year flood has a 1 in 500 chances of occurring every year so it’s possible to occur frequently. However, Nadja states that “changing landscapes — and a changing climate — could alter the probability of flooding” (Nadja, 2014) causing these large storms to become more frequent and possibly more powerful. The earth’s hydrology is changing and causing drastic changes in these storms (Nadja, 2014). In conjunction with this rapid urbanization of areas across Houston is affecting how and where water is flowing which has created lots of problems (Nadja, 2014). These facts come together to create a strong argument that humans are impacting these storms and possibly causing them to become more dangerous and frequent.
In the North American context, the origins of EIA has been dated back to the 1960’s where environmental awareness and the public was upset in the USA. The National Environmental Policy Act that was developed in 1969 was one of the first forms of legislated that was a form of EIA (Wall, 2016). This was the first indication of how federal government should consider the environmental impacts